Here’s Something I Hadn’t Thought Of
This is a sobering thought for any NASCAR venues in search of a second Nextel Cup date.
The announced merger of cell-phone companies Sprint and Nextel would create the third-largest U.S. mobile phone company. Adding Sprint as a partner to NASCAR’s biggest sponsor could lead to a second Cup race at Kansas Speedway — considering Sprint’s headquarters in Overland Park, Kan., are about 20 miles away.
Think not? Consider this: The Kansas track is owned by International Speedway Corp., a publicly held corporation controlled by the France family, which owns and controls NASCAR.
And we all know how much the corporate bigwigs love to wine & dine their buddies at the track. All, I might add, in a place high above the regular paying customers in their high rent Sky Boxes and “Hospitality Suites.”
UPDATE: If you didn’t know before, you know now. I love satire. So you also shouldn’t be surprised to learn I found this piece in the Daytona Beach News-Journal worth the read, and a couple chuckles. In it writer Ken Willis plays “What he said/What he meant,” after news of the Nextel/Sprint merger hit the newswires. At least I think it’s satire, you be the judge:
What Brian France said: “NASCAR is excited about the merger opportunity for its friends at Nextel.”What he meant: Of course, we’d be more excited if this had happened two years ago. Put those two companies’ resources together, and we could’ve made our $700 million deal look like ARCA money. And as for our “friends,” we’re assuming they’ll still have corner offices. If not, tell ‘em I’m in a meeting and will get back to them.
What he said: “Nextel’s leadership has built an outstanding company and successfully served its millions of customers.”
What he meant: Who cares if I can’t get a signal in Talladega? It’s just two weekends a year.
What he said: “Once the merger is completed, the company will have greater resources in technology, services, and the ability to reach its customers.”
What he meant: Maybe even those in Anniston.
What he said: “All of this will benefit the NASCAR relationship and will provide NASCAR the opportunity to reach new fans nationwide.”
What he meant: I’m thinking they’re not too excited in Rockingham, but look for a cardboard cutout of Dale Jr. at a Sprint store near you.
What he said: “NASCAR’s premier national series will continue to be known as NASCAR Nextel Cup in 2005 and will build on the outstanding success of the 2004 season.”
What he meant: I hope the Boys in Marketing have already copyrighted that “Sprint to the Nextel Cup” slogan I saw on the Internet today.
What he said: “NASCAR’s 10-year agreement remains in place and all of NASCAR is looking forward to great success in the years to come.”
What he meant: Ten years from now, I don’t care if you’re calling us the Sprint-Nextel-Cingular-AT&T-Joe’s Discount Wireless Cup, as long as those checks keep clearing.
Satire it may be, but the “Sprint to the Nextel Cup” line was in fact on the internet Friday and apparently coined by Jeff Wolf of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
